Jason began to come to. He felt worse than the time he got hungover in California during comicon. He tried easing himself into a sitting position on the bed he was currently laying in, and nearly fell back down. He had never been this weak before. It were as if both his body and mind were drained.

After a few minutes, A young woman walked into the room, gasped with a shocked expression on her face, then turned around and hurried out before he could ask questions. Jason chuckled to himself. Women had reacted to him a number of ways, but not quite like that.

A few minutes passed by and he heard someone approaching the door. An old man dressed in white robes came in, followed by deineres, Alize, Ricky, and the last person Jason saw before he fell unconscious, the lord of the city.

The man clad in white came over to Jason and began examining him, and doing what on earth would be a standard physical check up. Jason realized he must be a doctor. The doctor nodded and procured two potions. “Here. It seems you experienced both chi and chakra rebound. Unusual for necromancy, as that requires mana. But, that wasn't necromancy was it?”

Jason opened his mouth to reply,but was cut off by the man. “No, don't answer that. I’m too old to be involved with the affairs of you youngins, and lord knows my curiosity may very well get me killed. The rest of you may speak to the patient AFTER he downs those potions. i’m going back to my quarters, taking care of this one for the last 18 hours is too much for an old man”

The old man hobbled out of the room after watching Jason drink the potions. they weren't that bad, jason found, just fizzy. After the doctor left, the lord approached. “Greetings. I am Lord Governor Triage Exxus, 3rd of my name, 7th head of state in the City of Gyara. I would like to formally thank you for my life. I… am unsure on how to do this. it would be different if this were a battlefield and you saved me, but I was already dead, and you brought me back from the abyss at the risk of your own life. I don’t know what something of this scale is worth, but please, name what it is you wish, and see it done.”

Jason already knew what to ask. He had been thinking about it the whole day before the incident with the lord, triage. Strength was everything in this world, so how could the gain it? They needed more knowledge if they were ever to see their homes again, but knowledge requires money, and how could they acquire it? While he had no intention of joining the adventurer’s guild, the way they operated wasn't entirely wrong. Thus his answer was as such:

“ I would like you to recognize the founding of a new guild. Ahhh, not another uh, Adventurer’s Guild. A Mercenaries Guild.” Jason said this with a smile despite all the confused faces in the room. Lord Exxus’ face was chief among them.

“I don't believe there's ever been one of those before. I mean, mercenary bands, sure. But a group of differing mercenary bands, I think not. However I’m unsure if I’ll grant your requests for the same reasons as those adventurer scum. These ‘guilds’ you Earthmen introduce are amazing, no doubt about that. But you displace those around you. So many unions are in tight spots because of the Adventurers Guild alone. our local mages’ union is all but collapsed, and the adventurers guild hasn't even moved all the way in yet. The economy is feeling the effects of this sudden shift in financial power as well. I won’t contribute to the problem any further, not with my city I won't.”

Jason understood.Although probably primitive by the standard of his world, Socioeconomics were still at play here. This man was looking at the big picture, and saw the effects that having the equivalent of a big department store in a place full of mom and pop shops. Jason was skilled with money on a small or personal scale, but wasn't any sort of economic genius, he couldn't offer to help write up a plan to change the way things were going. There was really only one thing he could do.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“I promise, I’ll either absorb or work with any unions I come across, at least within this city. Is that enough?” Jason asked tentatively. “No,” said the lord “but it’ll have to do. The unions are pretty much done anyway, at least they’ll have jobs with you. I’m not really in a position to disagree to something reasonable, you did save my life after all. Hahahaha I’ll put you in the building that the Adventurer’s Guild is supposed to get!”

Jason shook his head. “You should give them their building, We’ll take the one they’re in now” The lord was absolutely livid. “Excuse me? They killed me! I know it was them!!! I saw that rabbit bitch on the rooftop in front of me right before I died! She-” the lord paused for a moment, breathed before speaking again. “Excuse me, my outburst was improper. But they will pay for what they have done. I only waited this long because i prioritized your survival.”

jason smiled “Thank you for that, However you should now prioritize yours. You should know that with the small amount of guards you have, you couldn't stop five Earthmen, let alone the entirety of the Gyara branch, which from the looks of it, had around ten. If you died again, I can't guarantee that I could revive you again. No, let them have what they want. For now.”

The lord nodded. “ It would seem your kind are not only strong, but wise as well. It burns me inside, but I think I shall do as you advise for the good of the city. In time, I shall remove the filth. I’ll also recognize your guild, as well as give you your first contracts. I’ll do so now.

1st. You will guard the city of Gyara and the surrounding regions.

2nd. There are bandits to the northeast, hampering trade and commerce with the elves. deal with them.

3rd. There are pirates obstructing key waterways, this is hazardous for a port city. I need them gone.

Contracts two and three will pay one thousand gold each, and contract 1 will pay 100 gold a month. This should get your coffers up and rolling so you can get started.”

The lord had turned to leave, when he was stopped by Ricky. “Ahh excuse me Lord Triage-” “Lord Exxus” corrected the lord “Yeah ok, Exxus, Do you have a place outside that's not really worth anything?” The lord thought for a moment before saying “I may… but why?” Ricky answered: “To decide who’s going to lead this guild.”

Seeing the confused faces of Jason and the lord, as well as the angry faces of Alize and Deineres, he sighed and continued “Look, I like Jason, don't get me wrong, but were talking about a mercenary group here. People’s lives are on the line. In that case, the strongest should lead, no?”

Jason sighed. the one who should be in charge was the SMARTEST, not the strongest. If Alize had said she wanted to be in charge, that would have made more sense than Ricky. Ricky was by no means dumb, but he had more… wisdom and insight than what might be called intellect.

Still, Jason knew it had to be done, not just for Ricky, but for everyone else that would be part of the organization. It had to be known without a doubt: He was in charge. He turned to the lord and said “The place you chose should be at least three days away from civilization. Expect for it to be totally destroyed.”

The girls attempted to argue with him about it, saying it was stupid to fight over who should be in charge, but Jason merely waved them off. A day passed, and Jason was back in top shape. Jason left some tasks with Alize and Deineres, and the following morning, he and Ricardo left in silence for their battlefield. The lone mountain where they had met up again, all those days ago.